Scalable distributed web-based authentication

ABSTRACT

Web-based authentication includes receiving a packet in a network switch having at least one associative store configured to forward packet traffic to a first one or more processors of the switch that are dedicated to cryptographic processing if a destination port of the packet indicates a secure transport protocol, and to a second one or more processors of the switch that are not dedicated to cryptographic processing if the destination port does not indicate a secure transport protocol. If a source of the packet is an authenticated user, the packet is forwarded via an output port of the switch, based on the associative store. If the source is an unauthenticated user, the packet is forwarded to the first one or more processors if the destination port indicates a secure transport protocol, and to the second one or more processors if the destination port does not indicate a secure transport protocol.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of prior U.S. patent application Ser.No. 11/974,838, entitled “Scalable Distributed Web-BasedAuthentication,” filed Oct. 15, 2007, in the name of the same inventorsand commonly owned herewith.

This application is also related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/458,979, entitled “Scalable Distributed Web-Based Authentication,”filed Apr. 27, 2012.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of computer science. Moreparticularly, the present invention relates to scalable distributedWeb-based authentication.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

An enterprise network may provide access to sensitive proprietary dataand critical resources. Authentication is used to prevent unauthorizedusers from accessing enterprise resources. Examples of such enterpriseresources include access to the intranet, access to the Internet, andaccess to a data center.

Web-based user authentication uses a combination of existingtechnologies, including Web browsers, Web content servers and secure andnon-secure Internet communications protocols. Typically, a userattempting to access network resources for the first time is challengedfor a user login name and password. A secure communication transportprotocol, such as Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), is first established totransmit user credentials. An Authentication, Authorization andAccounting (AAA) protocol such as Remote Authentication Dial In UserService (RADIUS) or Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) istypically used to authenticate the credentials.

Web-based user authentication solutions are typicallysingle-processor-based. As such, both plaintext and encrypted trafficare handled by the same processor, which can lead to both inefficientCPU usage and compromised handling of other critical network traffic. Inaddition, such solutions are typically ill-equipped to handle processorfailures and cannot scale easily to handle additional users,particularly in multi-VLAN (Virtual Local Area Network) enterprisenetwork environments. Accordingly, a need exists in the art for animproved solution for Web-based user authentication.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Web-based authentication includes receiving a packet in a network switchhaving at least one associative store configured to forward packettraffic to a first one or more processors of the switch that arededicated to cryptographic processing if a destination port of thepacket indicates a secure transport protocol, and to a second one ormore processors of the switch that are not dedicated to cryptographicprocessing if the destination port does not indicate a secure transportprotocol. If a source of the packet is an authenticated user, the packetis forwarded via an output port of the switch, based on the associativestore. If the source is an unauthenticated user, the packet is forwardedto the first one or more processors if the destination port indicates asecure transport protocol, and to the second one or more processors ifthe destination port does not indicate a secure transport protocol.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate one or more embodiments of thepresent invention and, together with the detailed description, serve toexplain the principles and implementations of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a computer system suitable for implementingaspects of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram that illustrates a scalable distributedarchitecture for Web-based authentication in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram that illustrates a scalable distributedarchitecture for Web-based authentication in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram that illustrates a scalable distributedarchitecture for Web-based authentication in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for Web-basedauthentication in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for Web-basedauthentication in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for Web-basedauthentication in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for forwarding apacket to a first one or more processors of a switch dedicated tocryptographic processing in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 9A is a block diagram that illustrates a method for forwarding apacket to a first one or more processors of a switch dedicated tocryptographic processing in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 9B is a block diagram that illustrates a method for forwarding apacket to a first one or more processors of a switch dedicated tocryptographic processing in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for Web-basedauthentication in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram that illustrates a scalable distributedarchitecture for Web-based multi-VLAN authentication in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram that illustrates a scalable distributedarchitecture for Web-based multi-VLAN authentication on the aggregationlayer in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present invention are described herein in the contextof scalable distributed Web-based authentication. Those of ordinaryskill in the art will realize that the following detailed description ofthe present invention is illustrative only and is not intended to be inany way limiting. Other embodiments of the present invention willreadily suggest themselves to such skilled persons having the benefit ofthis disclosure. Reference will now be made in detail to implementationsof the present invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.The same reference indicators will be used throughout the drawings andthe following detailed description to refer to the same or like parts.

In the interest of clarity, not all of the routine features of theimplementations described herein are shown and described. It will, ofcourse, be appreciated that in the development of any such actualimplementation, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be madein order to achieve the developer's specific goals, such as compliancewith application- and business-related constraints, and that thesespecific goals will vary from one implementation to another and from onedeveloper to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such adevelopment effort might be complex and time-consuming, but wouldnevertheless be a routine undertaking of engineering for those ofordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the components,process steps, and/or data structures may be implemented using varioustypes of operating systems (OS), computing platforms, firmware, computerprograms, computer languages, and/or general-purpose machines. Themethod can be run as a programmed process running on processingcircuitry. The processing circuitry can take the form of numerouscombinations of processors and operating systems, connections andnetworks, data stores, or a stand-alone device. The process can beimplemented as instructions executed by such hardware, hardware alone,or any combination thereof. The software may be stored on a programstorage device readable by a machine.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the components,processes and/or data structures may be implemented using machinelanguage, assembler, C or C++, Java and/or other high level languageprograms running on a data processing computer such as a personalcomputer, workstation computer, mainframe computer, or high performanceserver running an OS such as Solaris® available from Sun Microsystems,Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif., Windows Vista™, Windows NT®, Windows XP,Windows XP PRO, and Windows® 2000, available from Microsoft Corporationof Redmond, Wash., Apple OS X-based systems, available from Apple Inc.of Cupertino, Calif., or various versions of the Unix operating systemsuch as Linux available from a number of vendors. The method may also beimplemented on a multiple-processor system, or in a computingenvironment including various peripherals such as input devices, outputdevices, displays, pointing devices, memories, storage devices, mediainterfaces for transferring data to and from the processor(s), and thelike. In addition, such a computer system or computing environment maybe networked locally, or over the Internet or other networks. Differentimplementations may be used and may include other types of operatingsystems, computing platforms, computer programs, firmware, computerlanguages and/or general-purpose machines; and. In addition, those ofordinary skill in the art will recognize that devices of a less generalpurpose nature, such as hardwired devices, field programmable gatearrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or thelike, may also be used without departing from the scope and spirit ofthe inventive concepts disclosed herein.

In the context of the present invention, the term “network” includeslocal area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), metro areanetworks, residential networks, corporate networks, inter-networks, theInternet, the World Wide Web, cable television systems, telephonesystems, wireless telecommunications systems, fiber optic networks,token ring networks, Ethernet networks, ATM networks, frame relaynetworks, satellite communications systems, and the like. Such networksare well known in the art and consequently are not further describedhere.

In the context of the present invention, the term “identifier” describesan ordered series of one or more numbers, characters, symbols, or thelike. More generally, an “identifier” describes any entity that can berepresented by one or more bits.

In the context of the present invention, the term “distributed”describes a digital information system dispersed over multiple computersand not centralized at a single location.

In the context of the present invention, the term “processor” describesa physical computer (either stand-alone or distributed) or a virtualmachine (either stand-alone or distributed) that processes or transformsdata. The processor may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware,or a combination thereof.

In the context of the present invention, the term “data store” describesa hardware and/or software means or apparatus, either local ordistributed, for storing digital or analog information or data. The term“Data store” describes, by way of example, any such devices as randomaccess memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), dynamic random accessmemory (DRAM), static dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), Flashmemory, hard drives, disk drives, floppy drives, tape drives, CD drives,DVD drives, magnetic tape devices (audio, visual, analog, digital, or acombination thereof), optical storage devices, electrically erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EEPROM), solid state memory devices andUniversal Serial Bus (USB) storage devices, and the like. The term “Datastore” also describes, by way of example, databases, file systems,record systems, object oriented databases, relational databases, SQLdatabases, audit trails and logs, program memory, cache and buffers, andthe like.

In the context of the present invention, the term “network interface”describes the means by which users access a network for the purposes ofcommunicating across it or retrieving information from it.

In the context of the present invention, the term “Web server” describesa computer system that stores and/or serves Web pages and/or data readyfor access by other computers.

In the context of the present invention, the term “system” describes anycomputer information and/or control device, devices or network ofdevices, of hardware and/or software, comprising processor means, datastorage means, program means, and/or user interface means, which isadapted to communicate with the embodiments of the present invention,via one or more data networks or connections, and is adapted for use inconjunction with the embodiments of the present invention.

In the context of the present invention, the term “user authentication”describes the verification of the digital identity of the sender of acommunication such as a request to log in.

In the context of the present invention, the term “associative store”describes a component configured to search a data store to determinewhether a received data word is stored anywhere in the data store. Ifthe data word is found, the associative store returns a list of one ormore storage addresses where the data word was found. The associativestore optionally returns the data word, or other associated data. Anassociative store may be a content-addressable memory (CAM), also knownas an associative memory. Alternatively, an associative store may bebased on a linear table search or a binary table search.

Example embodiments of the present invention provide a method and systemfor Web-based authentication for use in a multiprocessor edge switch oraggregation layer switch. An edge switch solution can be used to blockan unauthorized user at the outermost periphery of an enterprisenetwork. An aggregation switch solution achieves economy of scale bycentralizing the task authentication of multiple users in a singlenetwork device.

Example embodiments of the present invention use a multiprocessornetwork switch architecture to efficiently forward packet traffic withinthe network switch based on one or more of traffic load, traffic type,and the computing capabilities of particular processors. Traffic loadmay be determined based on a client Internet Protocol (IP) address.Traffic type may include an indication of whether the packet traffic isplaintext or encrypted. The computing capabilities of a processor mayinclude an indication of whether the processor has cryptographicencoding resources, cryptographic decoding resources, or both.

Example embodiments of the present invention forward encrypted trafficto one set of processors and unencrypted traffic to another set ofprocessors, thereby removing cryptographic key processing as abottleneck in Web-authentication processing and increasingWeb-authentication throughput while minimizing any impact on packetforwarding of traffic not subject to Web-based authentication.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, trafficdistribution in a multi-processor network switch is achieved byextracting fields of interest from a received packet and performing alookup based on the extracted fields. The lookup may be done using anassociative store. The associative store is configured to forwardtraffic whose destination IP address is associated with themulti-processor network switch and whose destination port indicates asecure communication transport protocol such as SSL to one or moreprocessors dedicated to cryptographic processing, and all other trafficto one or more processors not dedicated to cryptographic processing. Toevenly forward the traffic among multiple processors of the same type,user IP address hashing is used in processor selection so that packettraffic of the same type from the same user is directed to the sameprocessor.

FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of a computer system 100 suitable forimplementing aspects of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1,system 100 includes a bus 102 which interconnects major subsystems suchas a processor 104, an internal memory 106 (such as a RAM), aninput/output (I/O) controller 108, a removable memory (such as a memorycard) 122, an external device such as a display screen 110 via displayadapter 112, a roller-type input device 114, a joystick 116, a numerickeyboard 118, an alphanumeric keyboard 118, directional navigation pad126 and a wireless interface 120. Many other devices can be connected.Wireless network interface 120, wired network interface 128, or both,may be used to interface to a local or wide area network (such as theInternet) using any network interface system known to those skilled inthe art.

Many other devices or subsystems (not shown) may be connected in asimilar manner. Also, it is not necessary for all of the devices shownin FIG. 1 to be present to practice the present invention. Furthermore,the devices and subsystems may be interconnected in different ways fromthat shown in FIG. 1. Code to implement the present invention may beoperably disposed in internal memory 106 or stored on storage media suchas removable memory 122, a floppy disk, a thumb drive, a CompactFlash®storage device, a DVD-R (“Digital Versatile Disc” or “Digital VideoDisc” recordable), a DVD-ROM (“Digital Versatile Disc” or “Digital VideoDisc” read-only memory), a CD-R (Compact Disc-Recordable), or a CD-ROM(Compact Disc read-only memory).

FIG. 2 is a block diagram that illustrates a scalable distributedarchitecture for Web-based authentication in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, network switch200 comprises an associative store 208, one or more input ports(210-214), one or more output ports (216-220), and a processor group 202comprising one or more processors dedicated to cryptographic processing204 and one or more processors not dedicated to cryptographic processing206. Input ports 210-214 are coupled to associative store 208 andconfigured to receive one or more packets on a packet-switched network.Output ports 216-220 are coupled to processor group 202 and associativestore 208 and are configured to send one or more packets to thepacket-switched network. Associative store 208 is configured to forwardpacket traffic to the one or more processors dedicated to cryptographicprocessing 204 if the destination port of the received packets indicatesa secure communication transport protocol, such as SSL. Associativestore 208 is further configured to forward packet traffic from thenetwork switch 200 to the one or more processors not dedicated tocryptographic processing 206 if the destination port of the receivedpackets does not indicate a secure communication transport protocol.Associative store 208 is further configured to forward packets directlyfrom one of input ports 210-214 if the packets are from a user devicethat has been authenticated.

Still referring to FIG. 2, the one or more processors dedicated tocryptographic processing 204 are configured to perform cryptographicprocessing on packets, and the one or more processors not dedicated tocryptographic processing 206 are configured to perform non-cryptographicprocessing on the packets. One of the one or more processors notdedicated to cryptographic processing 206 is further configured tocontrol networking functions other than forwarding, such as userauthentication, Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) snooping,user entry table creation, deletion, and associative store entry aging,user device address (e.g. Media Access Control (MAC) address) learning,Web server IP address management, and the like, and to performinter-processor synchronization to update the other processors withcurrent information.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram that illustrates a scalable distributedarchitecture for Web-based authentication in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is similar to FIG. 2, exceptFIG. 3 includes a master processor 340 configured to control networkingfunctions other than forwarding, such as user authentication, DynamicHost Configuration Protocol (DHCP) snooping, user entry table creation,synchronization, deletion, and associative store entry aging, userdevice address (e.g. Media Access Control (MAC) address) learning, Webserver IP address management, and the like.

As shown in FIG. 3, network switch 300 comprises an associative store308, one or more input ports (310-314), one or more output ports(316-320), a slave processor group 302 comprising one or more processorsdedicated to cryptographic processing 304 and one or more processors notdedicated to cryptographic processing 306. Network switch 300 alsocomprises a master processor 340. Input ports 310-314 are coupled toassociative store 308 and configured to receive one or more packets on apacket-switched network. Output ports 316-320 are coupled to masterprocessor 340 and are configured to send one or more packets to thepacket-switched network. Associative store 308 is configured to forwardpacket traffic to the one or more processors dedicated to cryptographicprocessing 304 if the destination port of the received packets indicatesa secure communication transport protocol, such as SSL. Associativestore 308 is further configured to forward packet traffic from thenetwork switch 300 to the one or more processors not dedicated tocryptographic processing 306 if the destination port of the receivedpackets does not indicate a secure communication transport protocol.Associative store 308 is further configured to forward packets directlyfrom one of input ports 310-314 if the packets are from a user devicethat has been authenticated. The one or more processors dedicated tocryptographic processing 304 are configured to perform cryptographicprocessing on packets, and the one or more processors not dedicated tocryptographic processing 306 are configured to perform non-cryptographicprocessing on the packets. Master processor 340 is configured to controlnetworking functions other than forwarding, such as user authentication,Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) snooping, user entry tablecreation, deletion, and associative store entry aging, user deviceaddress (e.g. Media Access Control (MAC) address) learning, Web serverIP address management, and the like, and to perform inter-processorsynchronization to update the other processors 302 with currentinformation.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram that illustrates a scalable distributedarchitecture for Web-based authentication in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is similar to FIG. 3, exceptFIG. 4 includes an associative store for each input port of the networkswitch 400; associative stores 422-426 are associated with input ports410-414, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 4, network switch 400 comprises one or more input ports(410-414), an associative store (422-426) for each input port (410-414),one or more output ports (416-420), and a slave processor group 402comprising one or more processors dedicated to cryptographic processing404 and one or more processors not dedicated to cryptographic processing406. Network switch 400 also comprises a master processor 440. A tablesuch as a hash table may be used in lieu of one or more of associativestores 422-426. Input ports 410-414 are coupled to associative stores422-426, respectively, and are configured to receive one or more packetson a packet-switched network. Output ports 416-420 are coupled to masterprocessor 440 and are configured to send one or more packets to thepacket-switched network. Associative stores 422-426 are configured toforward packet traffic to the one or more processors dedicated tocryptographic processing 404 if the destination port of the receivedpackets indicates a secure communication transport protocol, such asSSL. Associative stores 422-426 are further configured to forward packettraffic from the network switch 400 to the one or more processors notdedicated to cryptographic processing 406 if the destination port of thereceived packets does not indicate a secure communication transportprotocol.

Still referring to FIG. 4, the one or more processors dedicated tocryptographic processing 404 are configured to perform cryptographicprocessing on packets, and the one or more processors not dedicated tocryptographic processing 406 are configured to perform non-cryptographicprocessing on the packets. Master processor 440 is configured to controlnetworking functions other than forwarding, such as user authentication,Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) snooping, user entry tablecreation, deletion, and associative store entry aging, user deviceaddress (e.g. Media Access Control (MAC) address) learning, Web serverIP address management, and the like, and to perform inter-processorsynchronization to update the other processors 402 with currentinformation. Master processor 440 is further configured to enableforwarding packets directly from an input port to an output port if thepackets are from a user device that has been authenticated.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for Web-basedauthentication in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention. The processes illustrated in FIG. 5 may be implemented inhardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof. According to oneembodiment of the present invention, the processes illustrated in FIG. 5are performed by the network switch illustrated in FIG. 2. According toanother embodiment of the present invention, the processes illustratedin FIG. 5 are performed by the network switch illustrated in FIG. 3.According to another embodiment of the present invention, the processesillustrated in FIG. 5 are performed by the network switch illustrated inFIG. 4.

Still referring to FIG. 5, at 500, one or more associative stores of anetwork switch are configured to forward packet traffic to a first oneor more processors of the switch dedicated to cryptographic processingif the destination port of the packets indicates a secure transportprotocol, and to a second one or more processors of the switch notdedicated to cryptographic processing if the destination port of thepackets does not indicate a secure transport protocol. At 502, thenetwork switch is configured to enable forwarding packets directly froman input port to an output port if the packets are from a user devicethat has been authenticated.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for Web-basedauthentication in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention. The processes illustrated in FIG. 6 may be implemented inhardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof. According to oneembodiment of the present invention, the processes illustrated in FIG. 6are performed by the network switch illustrated in FIG. 2. According toanother embodiment of the present invention, the processes illustratedin FIG. 6 are performed by the network switch illustrated in FIG. 3.According to another embodiment of the present invention, the processesillustrated in FIG. 6 are performed by the network switch illustrated inFIG. 4.

Still referring to FIG. 6, at 600, a packet is received in a networkswitch having an associative store configured to forward packet trafficto a first one or more processors of the switch dedicated tocryptographic processing if the destination port indicates a securetransport protocol, and to a second one or more processors of the switchnot dedicated to cryptographic processing if the destination port of thepackets does not indicate a secure transport protocol. At 602, if thesource of the packet is an authenticated user, the packet is forwardedvia an output port of the switch, based on the associative store. Thesource of a packet may be indicated by the user device address. Anauthenticated user may be indicated by a match when the user deviceaddress is used in a table lookup, or a “hit” when the user deviceaddress is used as key for a associative store associated with the inputport of the network switch that received the packet. At 604, if thesource of the packet is an unauthenticated user, the packet is forwardedto a first one or more processors of the switch dedicated tocryptographic processing if the destination port of the packetsindicates a secure transport protocol, and to a second one or moreprocessors of the switch not dedicated to cryptographic processing ifthe destination port of the packet does not indicate a secure transportprotocol.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for Web-basedauthentication in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention. The processes illustrated in FIG. 7 may be implemented inhardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof. According to oneembodiment of the present invention, the processes illustrated in FIG. 7are performed by the network switch illustrated in FIG. 2. According toanother embodiment of the present invention, the processes illustratedin FIG. 7 are performed by the network switch illustrated in FIG. 3.According to another embodiment of the present invention, the processesillustrated in FIG. 7 are performed by the network switch illustrated inFIG. 4.

Still referring to FIG. 7, at 700, a packet is received in a networkswitch. At 702, packet type information is extracted from the packet.Example packet type information includes packet destination IP address,packet destination port, and packet source device address. At 704, adetermination is made regarding whether the packet destination IPaddress matches the IP address of the switch. If the packet destinationIP address matches the IP address of the switch, at 706 a determinationis made regarding whether the packet destination port indicates a securetransport protocol. If the packet destination port indicates a securetransport protocol, at 708, the packet is forwarded to a first one ormore processors of the switch dedicated to cryptographic processing. Ifat 706 the packet destination port does not indicate a secure transportprotocol, at 710, the packet is forwarded to a second one or moreprocessors of the switch not dedicated to cryptographic processing.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for forwarding apacket to a first one or more processors of a switch dedicated tocryptographic processing in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention. The processes illustrated in FIG. 8 may beimplemented in hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof.FIG. 8 provides more detail for reference numeral 708 of FIG. 8. At 800,the packet type information is hashed. At 802, the packet is forwardedbased on the hash result.

FIG. 9A is a block diagram that illustrates a method for forwarding apacket to a first one or more processors of a switch dedicated tocryptographic processing in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention. As shown in FIG. 9A, if the destination IP address900 matches the IP address of the network switch, the packet isforwarded to one or more processors dedicated to cryptographicprocessing 910 at 906 if the destination port of the packet indicates asecure transport protocol. If the destination IP address 900 matches theIP address of the network switch, the packet is forwarded to one or moreprocessors not dedicated to cryptographic processing 912 at 908 if thedestination port of the packet does not indicate a secure transportprotocol.

FIG. 9B is a block diagram that illustrates a method for forwarding apacket to a first one or more processors of a switch dedicated tocryptographic processing in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention. As shown in FIG. 9B, if the destination IP address916 matches the IP address of the network switch, at 924 the packet isforwarded to a particular processor dedicated to cryptographicprocessing 928 if the destination port of the packet indicates a securetransport protocol. If the destination IP address 916 matches the IPaddress of the network switch, the packet is forwarded to a particularprocessor not dedicated to cryptographic processing 930 at 926 if thedestination port of the packet is not does not indicate a securetransport protocol.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for Web-basedauthentication in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention. The processes illustrated in FIG. 10 may be implemented inhardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof. At 1000, apacket is received from a user device. At 1004, a determination is maderegarding whether there is a associative store entry match for the userdevice address. An associative store entry match for the user deviceaddress indicates that the user device has been authenticated. At 1002,if there is an associative store entry match for the user deviceaddress, the packet is forwarded based on the associative store entry.At 1006, if there is not an associative store entry match for the userdevice address, an associative store lookup is done based on thedestination IP address and the destination port of the packet. At 1008,a determination is made regarding whether (1) the destination IP addressis the web server IP address and (2) the destination port indicates asecure transport protocol. If the destination IP address is not the webserver IP address or the destination port does not indicate a securetransport protocol, at 1010 the packet is forwarded to one or moreprocessors not dedicated to cryptographic processing. At 1012, the oneor more processors not dedicated to cryptographic processing creates atemporary user session and sends a redirection message to the user. Ifat 1008 the destination port indicates a secure transport protocol, at1014 a determination is made regarding whether the packet is associatedwith a connection request based on the redirection message sent at 1012.If the packet is associated with a connection request based on theredirection message sent at 1012, at 1016 the one or more processorsdedicated to cryptographic processing sends a login page to the user. Ifthe packet is not associated with a connection request based on theredirection message sent at 1018 a determination is made regardingwhether the user's credentials are being provided. If at 1018 the userscredentials are being provided, at 1020 the one or more processorsdedicated to cryptographic processing receives the user credentials in asecure connection. At 1022, the one or more processors dedicated tocryptographic processing decrypts user credentials.

At 1024, the one or more processors dedicated to cryptographicprocessing forwards the decrypted user credentials to a processorconfigured to perform user authentication, create a user entry, andenable forwarding of packets directly from an input port to an outputport if the packets are from a user device that has been authenticated.In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, one of the processors notdedicated to cryptographic processing 206 performs these functions. Inthe embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, master processor 340 performsthese functions. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, masterprocessor 440 performs these functions. At 1026, the processor receivesthe user credentials and performs user authentication, create a userentry, and enable forwarding of packets directly from an input port toan output port if the packets are from a user device that has beenauthenticated.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, one Web server IPaddress is shared by all Web servers handled by a multiprocessor networkswitch. A master processor of the network switch is configured to handleInternet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) requests and responses for theshared Web server IP address, thus conserving IP addresses and providingusers with the appearance of a single Web server. Packet traffic flow isforwarded to particular processor(s) as discussed above.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, amultiprocessor network switch supports multiple virtual Web servers,allowing multiple Web servers in a multiple VLAN/subnet configuration.Similar to the single Web server configuration described above, usersdefine different Web servers for different VLANs/subnets. Individual Webservers function as an individual Web server instance, responding torequests and responses. However, internally on a given processor of thenetwork switch, all Web servers are bound to one real Web server. Inother words, only one Web server is listening, using IP NAT (networkaddress translation) and a tracking session to distinguish differentflows. This embodiment is discussed in more detail below with respect toFIG. 11.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram that illustrates a scalable distributedarchitecture for Web-based multi-VLAN authentication in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 11, VLANs1100, 1118, 1122, and 1108 interface with central Web server 1104 viavirtual Web servers 1102, 1116, 1120, and 1110, respectively. CentralWeb server 1106 comprises an HTTP server 1106, an HTTPS server 1112, anda Web server address translator 1114. HTTP server 1106 is configured tohandle communications using the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP).HTTPS server 1112 is configured to handle communications using theHyperText Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS). Web server addresstranslator 1114 is configured to use IP NAT.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram that illustrates a scalable distributedarchitecture for Web-based multi-VLAN authentication on the aggregationlayer in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Asshown in FIG. 12, a multiprocessor network switch of the presentinvention is used at the aggregation layer to interface between theInternet 1200, and between VLANs 1202 and 1212 via edge routers 1210 and1220 of VLANs 1202 and 1212, respectively.

While embodiments and applications of this invention have been shown anddescribed, it would be apparent to those skilled in the art having thebenefit of this disclosure that many more modifications than mentionedabove are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein.The invention, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the spiritof the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: examining a packet in anetwork switch having at least one memory; associating the packet with aflow based on a result of applying network address translation (NAT) toa first information from the packet, the flow associated with one of aplurality of virtual local area networks (VLANs); and responsive to theassociating, if a destination port of the packet indicates a securetransport protocol, forwarding, based at least in part on a secondinformation from the packet, packet traffic for the flow to a first oneor more processors of the switch that are dedicated to cryptographicprocessing; and if the destination port does not indicate a securetransport protocol, forwarding packet traffic for the flow to a secondone or more processors of the switch.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereinthe second one or more processors are not dedicated to cryptographicprocessing.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the secure transportprotocol comprises the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).
 4. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising hashing the packet to derive a result value.5. The method of claim 1, wherein the second information comprises thedestination port.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the secondinformation further comprises one or more of: a source port of theswitch that received the packet, a source IP address, and a user deviceaddress.
 7. The method of claim 6 wherein the user device addresscomprises a Medium Access Control (MAC) address.
 8. The method of claim1, wherein the examining further comprises receiving the packet via oneof one or more input ports of the network switch, each of the one ormore input ports associated with the at least one memory.
 9. The methodof claim 1, wherein the examining further comprises receiving the packetvia one of one or more input ports of the network switch, each of theone or more input ports associated with a different one of the at leastone memory.
 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising: responsive tothe associating, if a source of the packet is an authenticated user,forwarding the packet via an output port of the switch, based on thememory.
 11. A nontransitory program storage device readable by amachine, embodying a program of instructions executable by the machineto perform a method, the method comprising: examining a packet in anetwork switch having at least one memory; associating the packet with aflow based on a result of applying network address translation (NAT) toa first information from the packet, the flow associated with one of aplurality of virtual local area networks (VLANs); and responsive to theassociating, if a destination port of the packet indicates a securetransport protocol, forwarding, based at least in part on a secondinformation from the packet, packet traffic for the flow to a first oneor more processors of the switch that are dedicated to cryptographicprocessing; and if the destination port does not indicate a securetransport protocol, forwarding packet traffic for the flow to a secondone or more processors of the switch.
 12. A network switch comprising: afirst one or more processors; a second one or more processors; and atleast one memory; wherein the network switch is configured to: examine apacket in a network switch having at least one memory; associate thepacket with a flow based on a result of applying network addresstranslation (NAT) to a first information from the packet, the flowassociated with one of a plurality of virtual local area networks(VLANs); and responsive to the associating, if a destination port of thepacket indicates a secure transport protocol, forward, based at least inpart on a second information from the packet, packet traffic for theflow to a first one or more processors of the switch that are dedicatedto cryptographic processing; and if the destination port does notindicate a secure transport protocol, forward packet traffic for theflow to a second one or more processors of the switch.
 13. The networkswitch of claim 12, wherein the second one or more processors are notdedicated to cryptographic processing.
 14. The network switch of claim12, wherein the secure transport protocol comprises the Secure SocketsLayer (SSL).
 15. The network switch of claim 12, wherein the networkswitch is further configured to hash the packet to derive a resultvalue.
 16. The network switch of claim 12, wherein the secondinformation comprises the destination port.
 17. The network switch ofclaim 16, wherein the second information further comprises one or moreof: a source port of the switch that received the packet, a source IPaddress, and a user device address.
 18. The network switch of claim 17wherein the user device address comprises a Medium Access Control (MAC)address.
 19. The network switch of claim 12, wherein the network switchis further configured to receive the packet via one of one or more inputports of the network switch, each of the one or more input portsassociated with the at least one memory.
 20. The network switch of claim12, wherein the network switch is further configured to receive thepacket via one of one or more input ports of the network switch, each ofthe one or more input ports associated with a different one of the atleast one memory.
 21. The network switch of claim 12 wherein the networkswitch is further configured to: responsive to the associating, if asource of the packet is an authenticated user, forward the packet via anoutput port of the switch, based on the memory.